Drone strike hits Saudi oil pipeline as Red Sea

Drone strikes have been reported in Saudi Arabia’s very important east-west oil pipeline carrying crude from the Gulf to the Red Sea as a two-week ceasefire in the Middle East battle between the U.S., Israel, and Iran kicks off.

People acquainted with the matter said one of the pumping stations in the kingdom, which has turn into very important to its financial system since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz due to the ongoing struggle, was hit at around 1 p.m. local time.

Details surrounding the assault, including the aggressor and the extent of the injury, stays unclear. Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company that owns and operates the pipeline, didn’t remark on Wednesday’s incident.

According to a number of studies, Saudi Aramco had been rerouting its oil exports to the pipeline since the blockade began at the start of March.

The assault on the infrastructure comes amid the two-week ceasefire agreed upon by the U.S., Iran and Israel.

The shock ceasefire was an Eleventh-hour deal that was announced around 90 minutes before Trump’s deadline to Iran to open th Strait of Hormuz, or face obliteration of a “whole civilization.” In asserting the ceasefire, the president said the U.S. had achieved all of its army aims and was working toward a long time period peace deal.

“The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the president also announced that the U.S. would work closely with Iran to extract its uranium, a major point of interest for his administration, and one of the catalysts for the war.

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“The United States will work carefully with Iran, which we have now decided has gone through what will probably be a very productive Regime Change! There will probably be no enrichment of Uranium, and the United States will, working with Iran, dig up and take away all of the deeply buried (B-2 Bombers) Nuclear ‘Dust'” the president wrote on Truth Social.

“It is now, and has been, under very exacting Satellite Surveillance (Space Force!). Nothing has been touched from the date of assault. We are, and will probably be, speaking Tariff and Sanctions reduction with Iran. Many of the 15 factors have already been been agreed to,” he added.

Iran, however, has yet to comment on those plans and whether it would be willing to relinquish their powerful material.

Interestingly, moments after he announced plans to collaborate with Iran on digging up its uranium, the president also revealed that his administration would impose a 50% tariff on any country supplying military weapons to Iran.

“A Country supplying Military Weapons to Iran will probably be immediately tariffed, on any and all items bought to the United States of America, 50%, efficient immediately. There will probably be no exclusions or exemptions!” the president wrote on Truth Social.

It stays unclear how the president plans to implement the import taxes, or if he’ll really observe through with the threats.

As peace negotiations continue, the president is scheduled to meet with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Wednesday, where the rising ceasefire and a plan to open the strait are anticipated to be at the middle of talks.